The Digital Emergency Alert System (DEAS) is expanding once again in the U.S., and I emphasize “digital” because for a long time it was simply known as the EAS[wiki]. Welcome to the new age of technology.
The US government unveiled a communications system that in case of emergency should soon allow it to send SMS alerts to Americans’ mobile phones and computers.
“We have the ability to do this. It’s a major step,” Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director David Paulson told reporters outside the US capital as he unveiled the program’s design.
The Digital Emergency Alert System (DEAS) will include the participation of television networks and public radio stations and be based on an existing alert system built in the Cold War era for use in the event of a nuclear attack. [breitbart]
This is a brilliant concept, but everything like this will come with some type of problematic consequences. With so much information coming to us, “digitally”, there is that nagging convenience of ignoring that information as it comes in. The whole, “I’ll get to it later.”
This also can make people avoid the idea of paying attention to conventional methods of information distrubution, such as radio and TV. I’m not saying that is a horrible thing, but putting all your eggs in one basket could prove fatal if your mobile phone network is lacking electricity for some reason.
I can’t fail to mention the last part of this article. Who says big brother isn’t watching? Well, watching out for you, right?
Internet-linked computers will automatically switch on to a video message from the US Department of Homeland Security while downloading instructions prepared specifically from natural disasters, chemical and nuclear attacks, and other calamities. [breitbart]